After a vigorous selection round, choreographers Christina Chan (23) and Nicholas Long (21) have successfully made it to the finals of SPROUTS 2011, a competition organised by the National Arts Council (NAC) and co-presented by local contemporary dance company, Frontier Danceland.

SPROUTS aims to identify budding choreographic talent and provide them with a platform to create new and original concepts and ideas for dance that they can further develop. This year, with the addition of more applications extended to Non Singaporeans SPROUTS 2011 saw more choreographers adding their take to the various genres of dance, from hip-hop and funk, to jazz and traditional ethnic dance. In the Final Showcase on 3 September the winner will bag a cash prize of $2000, an Arts Professional Development Grant of up to $3000 to pursue further training in choreography, as well as the chance to perform a new piece at the finals of SPROUTS 2012.

About the Finalists …

Christina Chan graduated summa cum laude with a B.F.A. in Dance from The Boston Conservatory in May 2010 and was awarded the prestigious Arthur B. Whitney Medal for highest scholastic achievement. Originally from Singapore, she trained and performed with The Singapore Ballet Academy, and passed The Royal Academy of Dance Advance II Syllabus with distinction. She then moved to New Zealand to further her studies at The New Zealand School of Dance before moving to the United States. Christina has performed at various Singapore festivals including Singapore Dance Marathon, Singapore Youth Festival and The National Museum’s National Day Celebrations. She has danced in Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, and USA, and has worked for choreographers Jim Viera, Ashley Girgenti and Mary Wolf amongst others. Most recently she performed with T.H.E. Dance Company in “As it Fades” for the Singapore Arts Festival 2011. Christina received a scholarship from the National Arts Council from 2007-2011 and is also a recipient of a Merit Scholarship from The Boston Conservatory and the Julie Ince Thompson Award. She has had the opportunity to present four of her own choreographic works to the public.

Nicholas Long first started dancing at Nanyang Polytechnic. He began formal jazz training under the instruction of Peter Teo in 2007, and in 2008, discovered a new love for tap dancing when he joined various programmes organised by Jitterbugs Swingapore. He recently choreographed for the 2010 graduation show of Jitterbugs Swingapore’s Developing Artist Programme and was a guest choreographer for NUS Dance Ensemble’s Evocation 2011.Nicholas is currently training under Tiffany Wrightson for the Commonwealth Society of Teachers of Dancing (CSTD), an international dance society providing examinations in all major dance disciplines throughout Australia and the Asia Pacific region. He has obtained the CSTD Advanced Gold Bar for Tap and CSTD Grade 7 Jazz.

You can watch Christina, Nicholas and the other eight finalists battle it out on 3 September, 7.30pm at the NUS University Cultural Centre Theatre, 50 Kent Ridge Crescent. Tickets : $15 and $10 available at Sistic.